Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:39 pm Posts: 3528 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Sure looks like it could be a cat's-eye to me. Most of the "cataracts" are reflections of the room (look at the picture close-up), and you can clearly see the ends of the line at the sides of the gem. Unfortunately, I have zero idea how to value it as I am most certainly NOT an appraiser.
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:47 pm Posts: 2505 Location: Eastern Europe
gem-n00b wrote:
Sure looks like it could be a cat's-eye to me. Most of the "cataracts" are reflections of the room (look at the picture close-up)
Same here...
Would really love to see this one in all its glory! A picture w/o flash in daylight might do the trick, if it might be of use for you still. A setup with directional light would work even better.
It would only be the second cats eye in the 100 carat neighbourhood I've ever knew about (which isn't much).
Would imagine that to compete for a lofty budget the stone could afford to be smaller as long as it has no significant detraction. Smaller would even be more wearable at this point, for what that matters. Obviously you know allot better what the thing looks like and whatever defects it has if any (such as inclusions not contributing to the asterism but visible from the front or sides of the stone, for example, or fractures, etc.), than even allot better images could show...
Is it translucent? Can't begin to guess from the picture. Wouldn't expect to see through such a chunk, but it wouldn't help it's fortune if opaque...
You need an appraiser.. and I am not one. This is just personal opinion.
There has been allot of talk around here about where and how to get an appropriate appraisal for something exotic and potentially valuable.
Last edited by valeria102 on Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
For a moment forget the picture. Imagine if this is a Cat's Eye, how much would it cost?
I know it is one and that is why I am asking.
Thanks and Regards Bharat
Well if I have to imagine about the stone, then I will let you imagine about the price...
Seriously it is not possible to determine the quality of a gem if we have to imagine the color, the transparency, the calrity, the quality of the eye, the life of the stone, etc...
To give a price to a stone, you have to hold it in your hand and look at it with your eyes. Nothing wrong Bharat, but what you are asking is just the impossible: With a blur photograph as only clue, there is in my opinion just nothing to say.
Forums are not really thew best place to get an appraisal as it is difficult to get the quality of a stone from a simple photo. My advise would be to send the stone to a professional appraisal in the area you are willing to sell the gem.
The views expressed here are V. Pardieu’s opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of GIA Laboratory Bangkok (http://www.giathai.net)where he is an employee since Dec 2008.
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:42 am Posts: 77 Location: India
I will try it taking its pics in daylight as suggested.
The asterism is amazing in it. Since it is a huge piece and a flat one, it "eye" is like beautiful band on the top and merges into the sides. From some angles you can see multiple asterisms.
It is opaque since I couldn't see through it at all.
I am sending some better pictures to a miner friend in Zambia. I am sure she'd of some help.
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:42 am Posts: 77 Location: India
valeria102 wrote:
Would really love to see this one in all its glory! A picture w/o flash in daylight might do the trick, if it might be of use for you still. A setup with directional light would work even better.
Here are some more pictures:
in Sunlight
in Sunlight in my left hand
in room incandescent light without any special lighting.
in room incandescent light without any special lighting.
All pictures taken at 2.3 MP resolution with only Optical Zoom. No Digital Zoom employed. No editing employed.
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:44 pm Posts: 209 Location: Dallas, Texas
The stone in the picture lacks scale. it needs a ruler, or an item we can compare size. Also, just because a stone is larger thant what one would find in jewelry, does not make it more valuable. When stones become too large they move from jewelry into sample market. You should not merely multiply the value of a smaller variety to arrive at a higher price. This stone is too large for a piece of jewelry, or is it more like a bowling ball, or a door stop, or cannon ball? IRS case law does not allow such presumptions as to a multiple of price when the item is not the scale normally found in jewelry. This could save your client a lot of grief. If on the other hand, you assign a high price to the item, then be aware of the potential claim the tax men and bean counters could asses your client even before the item is sold. Let the market set the price not some immaginary multiple of a similar item that is jewelry size
multiplied to achieve a comp in a market that does not exist for such large items.... Winstone
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:47 pm Posts: 2505 Location: Eastern Europe
Was cutting a few stones from it considered at any time? I am intrigued by the choice to make a huge flat single stone out of the rough instead of several 'smaller' (OK, those would probably still be very sizable for fine material) pieces with relatively higher dome and sharper eye, and lack of visible fractures. It could also be the case that the cutter knew only too well that smaller stones would not be absolutely perfect (perhaps opaque, or whatever) and chose to play out size as the one outstanding feature of the piece, fully aware of what 'winstone' already wrote above.
Chances are I am just not seeing the light in this case.
And even if the stone could turn into a remarkable suite or otherwise make it in a one of a kind piece of jewelry in its current state, I can't claim to 'value' it. I can only imagine that getting advice for a recut and an appraisal are both professional services that are unlikely to be had informally and free of charge.
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